Nine meets Donna and survives
by hawkerin
Summary: The Ninth Doctor needs a bit of help and calls, well, himself to lend a hand. But who is this mouthy ginger and where is Rose?


The other TARDIS arrived fairly quickly. He hated to do it. This version of himself was tough and independent and definitely wouldn't ask for help from anyone. Unless of course he was at a loss to save Rose, in which case, he could ask himself for help. He sent the distress call out for the closest version of him that he could get and maybe together they could save Rose.

When the door swung open, the Doctor was a bit surprised to see a tall ginger woman leaving the ship. He had been hoping that it would either be one of his previous selves or another Rose would be along to help as well. This was… unfortunate.

"Oi, what are you staring at?" she asked the gaping man in front of her. "Doctor! If you want to know what that distress signal was about, you might try asking this one. Although, I'm not sure he can talk."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" the man in the leather jacket protested angrily.

"Ooh, you can do something other than gape stupidly at me. What was that all about?" Donna questioned again.

"Oh! I don't remember this. What's going on?" the man, who was apparently a future version of himself asked as he popped his head out the doors of the TARDIS.

"What you mean you don't remember this? Why would you?" Donna wondered.

"I mean, that's ME, Donna. From a few years ago."

"A FEW years?! But - NO!" he shouted, furious that Rose would be replaced as his companion so soon. It couldn't be. Not possible.

"Hang on there, Dumbo. How the hell could that be you?" she argued.

The future Doctor groaned and rubbed a hand over his face as he finally left the ship and began pacing. As he appeared to be about to deliver a dissertation on regeneration, the one who called them there interrupted.

"As interesting as I'm sure your answer to that will be, I did call you with a bit of an emergency, you may recall," the Doctor insisted.

"Oh really? Where's the fire then, because it sounded more like you were ready to have a go at me," Donna snapped.

"Ugh! Gingers! Didn't have enough of it with Mel? Why in all the universes would you be travelling with her in only a few years time and not with Rose?!" he shouted.

The man in the blue pinstriped suit closed his eyes. It was the first time that the man had been completely still since appearing from the ship. And it was only in that sudden stillness that he really noticed his previous constant movement. The future Doctor turned away to hide his emotions and it was only then that the Doctor could see why Donna was his future choice of companion. Her demeanor completely changed as her friend was clearly upset.

"What the hell did you go and say THAT for!" Donna growled at him before turning to comfort the other.

He couldn't hear what they were talking about after that. Well, he could have, but the sudden ringing in his own ears at the thought that he'd obviously tragically lose her terrifyingly soon made him deaf to everything around him. It was only when his future self finally grasped his upper arms and looked him straight in the eyes to get his attention that he managed to snap out of his panicked state.

"There now, deep breaths. It isn't now, alright? That much I can guarantee," the man assured him.

"You mean, he's travelling with her now?" Donna asked quietly.

The future Doctor nodded and he managed to get his breathing and heartsrate back under control.

"What's the emergency?" the man in the blue suit asked.

"Rose was captured and I can't see a way to get her out without a bit of help. I can break into the prison where they're holding her, but there's too many guards. I need a distraction or at least a bit more muscle. If they try interrogating her here -"

"Their truth drugs would kill her. They're poisonous to humans. Ok, let's work out a plan," the future Doctor finished for him as he saw the problem.

The trio entered the past Doctor's TARDIS to look over the maps he'd found of the prison, and managed to plan something for the next shift change. That gave them a bit of time and their tension released slightly. Donna was in the kitchen, making tea for them as they finalized the plans.

"What happened?" the one in leather asked quietly.

"You won't remember this anyway," he protested, clearly not interested in talking about it.

"True, but it might do you some good to talk about it."

"Clearly, I've talked about it since Donna knows," he argued.

"Fine, maybe I'd like to know if I should be angry with myself or if I can forgive you."

"You might as well punch me now, because I will never forgive myself for -" the Doctor in blue began but was interrupted by Donna once again.

"Oi! No punching yourself! I still don't understand how that great pillock is somehow you, Doctor but there will be no fighting between you while we have to go save Rose. Now, both of you, into the kitchen for some tea before the prison break, yeah?" she demanded.

"Just like Mel. Ordering us about," he commented.

"Yeah. Best listen to her too, she slaps almost as hard as Jackie," the other replied as he headed down the hall towards the kitchen.

Their plan went off without a hitch, for once. The future Doctor created a diversion just outside of the prison, drawing all of their personnel out to take care of whatever was happening, Donna kept a look out to let him know if anyone was on the way, while he went inside to get Rose. There was still one guard down at the desk, but he was easily dealt with and stowed safely in a locked cell.

The Doctor's hand didn't release Rose's for an instant until they got back to the TARDIS.

"How did you manage to get them all to leave like that?" Rose asked.

"Recruited a bit of help," he admitted.

"And a bit of thanks would be nice," Donna said suddenly from behind him.

"Hello, I'm Rose," she said, offering her hand.

"Donna. It's a real pleasure to meet you, Rose."

The Doctor gathered that his future self had spoken quite highly of Rose in her absence, because Donna was acting like she was meeting royalty or a movie star.

"You two chat a minute, I'll be right back," he told them and snuck around the TARDIS to find his other self.

The tall man in a suit and converse trainers was trying to see Rose from a distance. Desperate to just catch a glimpse of her. Rolling his eyes, the leather clad Doctor tugged on his arm to get his attention.

"Hey! What?"

"Look, if you'd just tell me what happens, maybe we can fix it."

"But you know we can't do that! It would cause a paradox!" he argued.

"Not necessarily. Do I really give up so easily in the future? This is Rose we're talking about," he insisted. "Look, is she dead?"

"No, she's trapped in a parallel universe."

"Right. Difficult to be sure. But not necessarily impossible."

"What?!" the future Doctor shouted. "Are you forgetting that the walls were sealed between universes to prevent the war from spilling out of this one?"

Rolling his eyes, he crossed his arms over his chest and explained, "Of course not. But she got through to there somehow, obviously. And, if we find a way to plant a tracker on her now that's linked to the TARDIS, you might be able to use the signal to tunnel through in your time. She still gets trapped, we still go through this little problem solving scenario, time stays constant, no paradox."

"But that's - brilliant," the other admitted.

With another roll of his eyes, he grabbed his future self by the arm again and dragged him over to where Rose and Donna were chatting. Donna squeaked when she saw him there.

"But you said -"

"I'm sure he said it'd be a paradox or something if Rose saw him and remembered him later, but we're going to do some pretty intense jiggery pokery here and I'll already have to make her forget, so he might as well be here," Rose's current Doctor explained.

"What's going on? Forget about what?" Rose questioned warily.

He took her hands and tried to explain without her being distracted by the strange man who was looking at her like he'd be hit with a love potion.

"Right, this might sound a bit mad, but you've seen stranger with me before. Time Lords have a little trick if we're about to die. We can use some of that energy we get from travelling through the vortex to change ourselves. It heals us, but our whole body changes. Looks, voice, personality, all new, but our memories and such stay the same," he began. "That man, is me in the future."

"Hello, Rose," he said sadly.

Rose looked at him, taking in what little she could. "Umm, ok," she replied looking back to her own Doctor.

"Sometime between now for us and his time, you're gonna get trapped in a parallel universe, and I won't be able to go and get you. Since he's here now to let me know that's going to happen, we can put a bit of technology on you now, so that he can get through to save you then."

"But won't us just talking to a future you cause a paradox? Like with my dad?" she questioned.

The future Doctor beamed at her cleverness. "It would if we tried to save you before this point in my timeline, because he wouldn't know to do this without me having come here now. But since I'll be going from this point in my timeline, it won't affect anyone's past, just our futures."

"Ok, I've got a question," Donna interrupted. "How are you going to put some technology on her NOW that you know she'll take with her in the future if she doesn't remember why she's got it?"

"An excellent question, but easily solved," the younger Doctor replied. "I'll inject the tracker into her arm, so that no one knows it's even there until he goes looking for it."

"Are you ok with this, Rose?" the future Doctor asked.

"Why would you do all this for me?" she wondered.

"Well, I," he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Donna sighed. "He really hasn't told you? I thought it was just grief that was keeping him from saying it out loud, but you really are hopeless, Doctor. Isn't it obvious that he's in love with you?"

"What? No, he's," Rose denied.

"Look, you're with that one, who seems a bit more rough 'round the edges and all, but even in the couple of hours that I've seen him, I can tell he's just as gone for you already," Donna insisted. "Not that I have any idea what you'd see in him," she added with a glare that was pointedly returned.

"Donna, you don't understand. The Doctor is too important to be in love with someone like me. I'm nobody. And he's got you to keep him in line," Rose argued.

"Rose," Donna said. "Do you want him to bring you back to the TARDIS in your future? Yes or no?"

"Yeah."

"That settles it then," the Doctor in leather said, taking Rose's hand again and leading her into the TARDIS to find the tracker that they would need.

They set it up with a very specific frequency for the future Doctor to look for before injecting the tiny device into her leg, where it wouldn't be noticed. As the time for them to part ways grew closer, the look of pain and longing on the future Doctor's face intensified.

"I know you said that I have to forget any of this happened, but can I remember it again later? Like when I'm trapped, so I know you're coming for me?" Rose wondered.

"No, it doesn't work like that. I could lock it away to be retrieved later, but I'd have to trigger it for you," the future Doctor explained.

"And you don't remember any of this either? From where you are now?" she asked.

"Not a bit. I often don't when I meet myself."

"Then I guess it's safe to do this," she said and pulled her Doctor into a snog by the lapels of his leather jacket.

The Doctor was clearly in shock for a moment before wrapping his arms around her and just going with it. It went on for several minutes before they broke apart breathlessly.

"Now I want my memories back," the future Doctor muttered.

"Alright, come on, Romeo. Let's go find your own Rose and you can snog the living daylights out of her yourself," Donna told him as she headed out the doors towards the other TARDIS.


End file.
